Canisius Hockey Loses at Robert Morris, 6-1

Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Canisius College hockey team finished its six-game road trip to start the season with a 6-1 loss at Robert Morris on Friday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 1-5-0 on the season and 0-3-0 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Colonials improve to 1-5-1 and 1-0-1 against league foes.

“Robert Morris was a better team tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We got into penalty trouble early and it made it difficult to sustain anything 5-on-5. We were playing from behind and it was an uphill battle that we couldn’t come back from. We need to generate a more consistent 5-on-5 attack if we want to be successful in the future.”

Junior defender Doug Jessey scored the lone goal for the Griffs in the defeat.

The Colonials didn’t waste much time getting on the scoreboard when Greg Gibson scored just 1:43 into the contest for the early 1-0 advantage.

The Griffs answered back with Jessey’s first goal of the season, connecting on the power play. The junior defender sent the puck into the back of the net from the blue line at the 7:37 mark to pull Canisius even at one. Sophomore Stephen Miller and junior Doug Beck both registered an assist on the extra-man tally.

Robert Morris, however, finished the period strong behind two Cody Wydo goals. Wydo scored his first goal with 4:57 remaining in the period, finishing on the power play. After a shot off the boards, the puck went to Wydo on the opposite end and he jammed it in for the 2-1 lead. Wydo then added his second goal with 1:15 remaining in the period, getting behind the Canisius defense and finishing 1-on-1 with the goalie for the 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of action.

Wydo added a third goal 5:08 into the second period, knocking a rebound in on a 5-on-3 power play for a 4-1 Robert Morris lead.

The Colonials finished the scoring with two goals in the third period when Zac Lynch (6:12) and Brandon Denham (15:30) each netted a goal for the 6-1 victory.

Robert Morris outshot the Griffs, 35-29, on the night. The Colonials also converted 2-of-8 power plays on the night, while Canisius was 1-for-4 with the extra-man advantage.

Senior goalkeeper Tony Capobianco stopped 29 shots for Canisius in defeat, while Terry Shafer recorded 28 saves for the Colonials.

Canisius now returns to Buffalo for its home opener on Saturday night. The Griffs host Mercyhurst at the Buffalo State Sports Arena at 7:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Canisius has lost its last four games to Robert Morris and seven of the last eight … Canisius has scored nine of its 13 goals this season (69.2 percent) on special teams (seven power-play goals and two short-handed tallies) … The Griffs have allowed multiple power-play goals in back-to-back games after allowing two extra-man tallies in just one game last season.